Overlapping Crises: Climate Disaster Susceptibility and Incarceration.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent all over the world; however, there is significant variability in the impact of disasters, including which specific communities are the most vulnerable. The objective of this descriptive study was to examine how climate disaster susceptibility is related to the density of incarceration at the county level in the United States. Percent of the population incarcerated in the 2010 census and the Expected Annual Loss (EAL) from natural hazards were broken into tertiles and mapped bivariately to examine the overlap of areas with high incarceration and susceptibility to climate disasters. Over 13% of counties were in the highest tertile for both incarceration and EAL, with four states containing over 30% of these counties. The density of incarceration and climate disaster susceptibility are overlapping threats that must be addressed concurrently through (1) decarceration, (2) developing standardized guidance on evacuated incarcerated individuals during disasters, and (3) more deeply understanding how the health of everyone in these counties is jeopardized when prisons suffer from climate disasters.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Cowan, KN; Peterson, M; LeMasters, K; Brinkley-Rubinstein, L

Published Date

  • June 17, 2022

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 19 / 12

PubMed ID

  • 35742683

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC9224462

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1660-4601

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.3390/ijerph19127431

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • Switzerland